[budget minded]

i'm not really hip to media servers other than a full review i've read for the sonos units which isn't quite right for my needs as it's hard disc based and couldn't take the abuse it would suffer inside a trailer with a subwoofer.

i'm looking to control uncompressed WAVs in a "12v car stereo" trailer pulled by my bike with an illuminated LCD screen using RF. anything i've tried to read on the technology is in tech terms like bluetooth etc. which i don't do.

i want a system that i DON'T need to get a laptop for and that can work with either mp3 players or USB sticks for storage of audio. is there such a system? anything i've come across has some sort of limitation that rules gear out for my needs...
- infrared remotes are useless
- sonos uses hard discs that can't take bumps or being right next to an unshielded subwoofer
- ipod remotes are fugly and notorious for not working well
and so on.

i'd like a way to get a slick looking controller like the sonos or philips top of the line pronto units that can use rechargeable batteries and can control AT LEAST 4gb of MY AUDIO at full fidelity. 32gb would be more than enough for cruising with variety.

it's starting to look like everything is "home use only" unless there's some sort of device (even one that works off infrared that an RF converter could control) that uses solid state memory i don't know of.

the only thing i can think of now, is to just use my cowon media player with uncompressed WAVs inside the trailer and stop my bike every time i want to chose a different playlist or change volume which is extremely annoying. i've even looked into DIYing RF volume controls to no avail although i know they CAN be done, but i'm not well versed in circuit design either.

a million thanks in advance to those who know this technology better than me (very tough to research!) and can help me add that extra trick handlebar control to my bike system and keep it all hifi.

[budget minded]

can no one help? i'm really out of sorts when anyone starts talking blue tooth this and wifi that. i just want to be able to control uncompressed HQ audio from my bike's handlebars. there has to be SOME way to do it other than using a crappy sounding ipod and a butt ugly ipod remote. what about a "wifi transmitter" that lets me broadcast uncompressed digital data from a touchscreen media player to a wifi receiver?

i'm not looking for internet radio, i just want to be able to control MY TUNES from my bikes handlebars without compromising sound quality. please help!

all of this new tech mumbo jumbo is FRUSTRATING eg. the squeezebox system ALMOST looks like what i want, but it also looks like the touchscreen is the "media server" and can't be used on my handlebars.

[dwhite]

I'm not sure if this is the right fourm but also don't know where else it could go, we'll try it in the music streamers section, if you get nowhere there ask the mod there to move it again possibly to I.C.E (even tho its for a bike.

[budget minded]

this IS "streamers and network players".

so far, i'm still coming up with the same two possibilities i already knew of, modding an already expensive sonos system, or dealing with a lower fidelity ipod system and less than trick looking remote controls.

if i can't find a better solution that will work with a touch screen, i'll just "slum it" with an ipod, deal with remote controls that look like remote controls (a touchscreen remote looks like a stereo component) and hotrod it with a wadia ipod dock down the road. i was really liking the look of a few widescreen remotes though and sonos' displaying cover art is just too cool as is the navigation.

i'd be happy with my cowon C5 media player if only i could broadcast to my trailer without degrading sound with FM. all of the coolest gear requires a PC when all you should really need is a storage device. an operating system for a remote that talks to a dock couldn't be THAT complicated

select folder>select track>play>stop

the keyspan tune view is ALMOST what i want except it's buggy and looks like a remote control. a touchscreen keyspan would be awesome. it's too bad you can't hotrod the keyspan with an outboard D/A converter.

my whole point with the trailer is show that bikes are cooler than cars,

[Joe Fernand]

My bike is definitely cooler than my car - its usually Baltic when I'm out on the bike

You might want to look at Flash based players used in the Museum/Kiosk world - though you'll probably have to look at a home grown control option if you want something with a Touch Screen.

Many players intended for the Museum market will have simple hard wired contact closure control options and all you will require are a couple (or three) buttons on your bars.

Not used this but worth a look - heddier Web-Shop - heddier Flashplayer FP-500 FP-500

Joe

[dwhite]

Originally Posted by budget minded

this IS "streamers and network players".

We have two sections that cover media streaming, as you are interested in music, I moved it to the music streamers section. The section you originally posted in was more for video streaming, amnd hence why you probably got little response.

[budget minded]

sorry about spamming the wrong forum. i thought i got there chasing an audio thread.

after reading about a bluetooth D/A converter today at the library, now i have a NEW direction to look. i had thought bluetooth & wifi = internet only.

at first i tried "bluetooth audio" and saw a bunch of transmitters, then when i tried a second search for "bluetooth media players" i came upon this
http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/...oducts_id=1478

THAT'S alot closer to what i imagined... a touchscreen that is ALSO the media player so it has a better display than an off the shelf universal remote. i REALLY like what looks like a blue RTA (graphic EQ) display for music. that's BEYOND slick! i'd actually bought an EL panel for my trailer that was supposed to be an RTA, but proved to be just a crappy VU meter posing as one. i'd love an RTA between my handlebars. that's even cooler than cover art as it follows the music. i'm thinking this might be the route i take as it should be possible to transmit lossless audio and maybe someone even makes a really HQ D/A converter.

i thought bluetooth was just for the internet. all i know, is if i do get a blutooth player, it WON'T ever be a creative labs unit after the 1st one i bought to work with win98 didn't as claimed nor did the zen stones i bought to play WAVs do THAT as claimed and then they argued with me on returning until i caught a rep lying about WAV capabilities in an email to which i emailed him his own tech saying "only lofi wavs recorded by the player"

trying to do this always leads to dead ends. i'm not having any luck finding "high end" bluetooth audio converters other than the motorola which has lousy sound quality which is my #1 priority. i've also just learned that bluetooth ISN'T lossless either as a new software update that is has just been created. just when i think i've made "the" breakthrough i've been searching for, i find out it's a waste of time with current technology. curse mp3 for turning everyone into tin eared sheep! LOL

BTW, if anyone's interested in bike stereo systems, here's my street party bike website with some pics of my new bike (i've since installed the front fender), stereo gear i'll be using, rough drafts of the trailer system, and links to other bike stereo sites & pics
http://sites.google.com/site/takatom...eet_party_bike

[budget minded]

just hit another couple dead ends...

the iubi blue doesn't exist anymore apparently so there's no way to get one of those, and the ipod classic uses a hard drive which doesn't agree with bumps or unshielded subwoofers!

it's frustrating. it's like every manufacturer is conspiring to keep me from building this system! LOL

[budget minded]

hmm... THIS looks like it might be close to what i'm looking for...
Seagate FreeAgent Theater Media Player

it's a remote controllable media player. i'm guessing i could pop a flash hard drive inside it and just use an RF to infrared remote control unit. i THOUGHT someone would have made something like this by now. i found it by accident myself looking for external hard drives for my PC

[budget minded]

for what it's worth, despite kenwood & alpine techs BOTH stating they can't play WAVs & inquiries at several car & marine stereo shops online, i found that at least SOME pioneer premier decks will play WAVs off my Cowon U5 & let me navigate with no problems.

it IS doable afterall. all i'd need to do is get a universal RF to IR remote to make it work.

i might even be able to find a way to wire the IR repeater into the back of the deck so i don't have to mount it back a few inches to mount a repeater in front of it. i'll have to redesign my trailer to accommodate the the deck, but on the upside, the units have cool looking blue retro VU meters that will add "bling" to the system and compliment the electric blue plasmaspheres.

i'd have preferred a system that better integrates with navigating folders, but at least i've found a WORKABLE solution now

if a moderator reads this, you can mark this thread as "resolved"